What a night

The subject heading says it all. Sunday, February 21st was one of the most enjoyable nights I've had in quite some time. First off, I went to the WWE's Elimination Chamber PPV and it was one of if not the best live wrestling event I've been to since my friend Ben Huelsing and I were able to get first row tickets to a Raw back in January of 2000. A little more on that in a bit. But after returning home from a great night of wrestling and the usual intriguing, amusing and thought provoking conversation with my friend Mike Daoud I was lucky enough to avoid being told or seeing who had won the U.S.A./Canada hockey game. Little did I know I was to witness, although a few hours later, one of the best hockey games I have ever seen on television. (Live games have their own category) So, this blog will be separated into two categories. One about hockey and one about wrestling. Each will have my usual random thoughts afterward.

The way the U.S. team played, overall, reminds me of what I've seen and read about the Miracle on Ice 1980 men's hockey team. The United States played with heart and passion and enthusiasm. They played with speed but control. They played with aggressiveness but not reckless abandon. They were outmatched in many aspects of the game and still finished the contest victorious. While a game played between two teams made up of 100% NHL players is not even close to the significance of that contest thirty years ago in Lake Placid between a group of college kids who knocked off a veteran Soviet team that had years if not decades of experience as a team, the similarities remain. Canada, like the Soviets, is expected to win. They have the most skill, the best players, the best goaltending, the most pressure (those red jerseys also). The U.S. is young, not expected to do much other than hope for a medal, they're scrappy (they also have some Johnsons, a Brooks and a Suter). Stretches to be sure, but comparisons nevertheless.

In the end it came down to the Americans doing everything they needed to do and minimizing mistakes. The red, white and blue got spectacular goaltending, to say the least, out of Ryan Miller. The guy turned aside 42 of 45 shots with a good 20-30 of those being quality scoring opportunities. The stars and stripes continues to get scoring from players they were not necessarily looking to for goals. Defenseman Brian Rafalski added to his goal total by putting two more in the back of the net along with Chris Drury, Jaime Langenbrunner and Ryan Kesler. Just a fantastic hockey game despite the heartbreak that I'm sure it gave to our friends north of the border. It was the kind of hockey game that I wish any and all doubters about hockey's excitement would have watched and still argued that it isn't a great sport.

- David Backes continues to impress. He added an assist tonight and was just a beast in front of the net and along the boards. Let's hope he doesn't wear down and keeps this up in a blue uniform of a different sort.

- EJ looks good too, though he's disappeared a few times as well. One good spot out of the Canada game was he was taking those open shots on the powerplay. Another good sign if he carries that into the stretch run for the Blues.

- What the heck was up with Scott Niedermayer? He pretty much slung one of the American players into the boards WELL after the horn sounded to end the period. I thought it deserved a penalty but nothing given out.

- I don't buy into this blaming Martin Brodeur kick that many Canadians are on. No, that was not the top form Brodeur. Yes he came out to play the puck way too much. Maybe I'm viewing this through red, white and blue colored glasses, but I just didn't see the game being put squarely on his shoulders. I'm a goalie at heart and have been known to make excuses but in my own opinion, I don't think Roberto Luongo or Marc-Andre Fleury make a difference in that game.

All that said, I'll go in reverse a little bit and discuss the Elimination Chamber event as well. A standing ovation to the WWE writers and all the wrestlers who performed last night. This event renewed my excitement for pro wrestling as it was getting quite stale and predictable. And while there was a degree of predictability to the event, it was still full of good wrestling, good mic work, surprises and things that lived up to expectations even though you may have known it was coming.

They surprised us all by opening the night with one of two Elimination Chamber matches. The surprises continued when Batista came down to take the WWE title off John Cena who had just defeated TripleH with a submission. The night progressed with a surprisingly entertaining Intercontinental Championship match between Drew McIntyre and a very agile Kane. Then a women's match that was actually entertaining until they blew the ending. William Regal came out and did his thing, making us all laugh even though he was making fun of us and then Edge came out and speared him for the crowd pop. After that was a solid match between my buddy Mike and Josh Layton...I mean between MVP and the Miz. The ending of that was eh, but I'll give it a pass. Then came the final Elimination Chamber match for the World title.

This match had a lot to live up to, given that they started off with the other chamber match and it did not disappoint. The biggest shock of the night came during the Undertaker's entrance. The Deadman came out to his usual pyro, but as he stopped at the top of the ramp a flashpot accidentally went off and he was engulfed in a flame ball. His coat caught on fire and he had to quickly strip it off and run towards the ring. Ever the consummate professional, he went on with the match, merely pouring water on himself to treat the burns. I will say that he was pissed both before and after the match and it really threw off his character for the entrance. However, the event ended in spectacular fashion as Shawn Michaels came out from under the ring, popped through the chamber floor, superkicked Taker and stood over him after Chris Jericho won the belt. It was the kind of show that at least partially reminded me of what wrestling was like back in the late 90's and early 00's.

- CM Punk continued to build his character as a heel and one who is fantastic on the mic. Straight edge all the way.

- I will begrudgingly admit that I don't despise Sheamus as much as I did previously. There Mike, I said it. Although the guy still has no offense other than punches and a big boot, he did perform quite well in the chamber.

- I was pleasantly surprised that the WWE left some of the lower card guys in their matches for awhile. John Morrison, Ted Dibiase, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio (yes, I do think of Rey as a lower card guy) were all given their time to shine and really add to the matches with some big spots.

- I'm really excited about where the storyline possibilities will lead heading into Wrestlemania. The possible destruction of Legacy is interesting. Edge vs. Jericho would be great. Cena vs. Batista will have a lot of good storyline buildup. The match could be...watchable. Will there be a Vince vs Brett Hart match?

- The HBK moment was still awesome even though Layton texted Mike and told us he saw Michaels get under the ring.

- I seem to be the only one, but I'm still worried about Taker vs. HBK 2. I loved seeing Michaels hit sweet chin music on Taker but I just hope they have something really different planned for their match. A replay of last year's 'Mania, though entertaining, just doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort.

- Chris Jericho is the man. I got to meet him on Saturday night and he comes across as a really nice guy. I was glad he got to win the title and set up a Wrestlemania main event singles match (hopefully) even though he is currently a heel.

Well that's all for now as I should be in bed. Overall, it was a great night but remember. It may be an opinion...but I'm right.